Iowa holds steady at 3.2% unemployment as workforce quietly shrinks.
3.2%
Iowa unemployment rate
Steady 4 months; vs 4.1% national
-9,500 jobs (-0.6%)
12-month employment change
Ranks 46th nationally for job growth
60,378
Statewide job openings
Unfilled despite near-zero net job growth
67.0%
Labor force participation
3rd-highest among states, July 2026
This Month's Takeaways
01
Iowa's labor market is tight by attachment, not by growth.
A 3.2% unemployment rate sits well below the 4.1% national figure, yet Iowa has shed 9,500 jobs over twelve months, ranking 46th nationally for job growth. Low unemployment here reflects workers leaving the labor force, not robust hiring demand.
02
Retirement outflows look like the real constraint on local capacity.
The sharpest labor-force decline is concentrated among 45-54 year-olds, and state data attribute the drop to retirement rather than displacement. That demographic pattern, not layoffs, is the more durable headwind for nonmetro Iowa's growth capacity.
03
Healthcare and construction are the only sectors with real traction.
Healthcare and social assistance added 5,700 jobs and construction 3,200 over the year, while trade and transportation shed 5,200 combined. A narrowing base of growth sectors concentrates local economic momentum in fewer hands.
04
A $2.1 billion UI trust balance is a quiet stability signal.
Low claims volume has funded the lowest possible employer UI tax rate for 2027, a technical but real cost advantage for Iowa businesses operating in nonmetro counties. It reflects an economy with low churn, consistent with the retirement-driven rather than layoff-driven story above.
Local Economic Conditions
Iowa's nonmetropolitan counties track a statewide economy holding at 3.2% unemployment for a fourth straight month, with manufacturing (+1,300 jobs in August) and healthcare offsetting continued softness in trade, transportation, and warehousing. Workforce attachment remains unusually strong by national standards, but total employment is still 7,500 lower than a year ago as retirements among 45-54 year-olds, rather than layoffs, pull workers out of the labor force.
Open Threads in the Data
Steady unemployment combined with shrinking total employment signals a capacity constraint rather than a demand problem — businesses report 60,378 open positions statewide even as the labor pool contracts, a dynamic that limits how fast local firms can scale operations regardless of local consumer demand. For commerce and economic development leaders, this points toward workforce participation and retiree re-engagement as the more pressing local economic variable than wage levels. Consider monitoring county-level labor force participation alongside job-opening counts to judge whether expansion plans in this market are realistic over the next two quarters.
Advertised Pay Indicators · WageScape Benchmark 25 Jobs
Job postings data for the IA NONMETROPOLITAN AREA metro — median advertised pay, its recent trend, and the number of active postings behind each figure. Jobs are grouped for readability and are not the same as the 10 sector classifications on the next page. For additional job detail contact WageScape.
Retail Trade
| Retail Sales Associate |
$27,026 |
→ Stable |
4,438 |
| Retail Cashier |
$27,397 |
↓ Moderate decline |
1,413 |
Transportation & Warehousing
| Warehouse/Fulfillment Associate |
$37,440 |
→ Stable |
832 |
| CDL Truck Driver |
$76,500 |
→ Stable |
22,736 |
| Delivery Driver |
$31,056 |
↓ Moderate decline |
10,027 |
| Warehouse Manager |
$60,000 |
→ Stable |
19 |
Construction
| Construction Laborer |
$41,600 |
↓ Moderate decline |
598 |
Construction/Skilled Trades
| Electrician |
$69,387 |
↑ Significant increase |
1,049 |
| HVAC Technician |
$63,500 |
↑ Moderate increase |
91 |
Manufacturing
| Manufacturing Production Worker/Assembler |
$39,000 |
→ Stable |
1,319 |
Cross-Sector
| Customer Service Representative |
$35,886 |
→ Stable |
1,177 |
| Operations Manager |
$94,296 |
↑ Moderate increase |
38 |
Leisure & Hospitality
| Food Service Worker |
$30,492 |
→ Stable |
445 |
Healthcare
| Certified Nursing Assistant / Home Health Aide |
$41,344 |
→ Stable |
8,128 |
| Registered Nurse |
$108,630 |
↑ Significant increase |
18,128 |
Admin/Office Support
| Administrative Assistant/Office Clerk |
$39,030 |
→ Stable |
842 |
Information/Technology
| Software Engineer |
$124,379 |
↑ Moderate increase |
221 |
| Data Engineer |
$137,948 |
↑ Moderate increase |
108 |
Professional & Business Services
| Accountant |
$65,148 |
→ Stable |
581 |
| HR Generalist/Manager |
$67,500 |
↑ Moderate increase |
173 |
| Marketing Specialist |
$52,607 |
→ Stable |
80 |
| Business Analyst |
$91,524 |
→ Stable |
93 |
Finance & Insurance
| Financial Analyst |
$76,585 |
↓ Significant decline |
139 |
Government/Education
| Elementary/Secondary School Teacher |
$50,233 |
↑ Significant increase |
4,581 |
Cross-Sector Sales
| Account Manager |
$85,000 |
↑ Significant increase |
421 |
Industry Snapshot · IA NONMETROPOLITAN AREA
Advertised pay and job-posting trends across the whole metro economy, rolled up by employer industry — not just the bellwether roles above.
| Sector |
Median Pay Change |
Job Postings Change |
| Construction |
↑ +7.3% |
→ −1.4% |
| Manufacturing |
→ +2.5% |
↓ −19.7% |
| Retail Trade |
↑ +19.2% |
↓ −16.3% |
| Transportation, Warehousing & Utilities |
→ +1.8% |
↑ +19.8% |
| Information |
↑ +38.5% |
↓ −16.5% |
| Financial Activities |
↓ −9.2% |
↓ −39.2% |
| Professional & Business Services |
↓ −7.6% |
↓ −19.4% |
| Education & Health Services |
↑ +14.0% |
↓ −18.8% |
| Leisure & Hospitality |
→ −2.6% |
↓ −28.5% |
| Government |
↑ +21.9% |
↓ −49.0% |
Looking Ahead · Next 30–60 Days
Worth watching
Trade, transportation, and warehousing lost 5,200 jobs statewide over the year, with transportation alone down 3,300. Whether this stabilizes or deepens over the next two months will shape overall nonmetro job counts given the sector's historic weight in rural Iowa.
Early indicator
WARN notices for 2026 are down 58% from 2025 in affected workers, but recent filings (Sioux City sanitation and meat processing closures, Forest City manufacturing cuts) suggest localized disruption persists even amid a calmer statewide trend.
Potential inflection point
Labor force participation rose to third-highest among states in July, a reversal worth tracking against the retirement-driven employment declines — any resumption of participation growth would ease the capacity constraint facing local employers.
Expected
The 2027 unemployment insurance tax rate reduction, funded by the $2.1 billion trust balance, takes effect for Iowa employers in the new year — a modest but tangible operating-cost tailwind for the local business climate.
Sources & Methodology
Pay and hiring data provided by WageScape. See every source cited in this report, with links →
Advertised pay reflects the pay ranges employers publish in active job postings in this metro, not survey or payroll data. Pay trends compare the current period with the prior period for the same metro and role. Sector figures group postings by the employer's industry classification; sectors with limited classified postings are marked as such rather than estimated. This briefing is independent of, and complements, official statistics from the BLS and state labor market information offices.
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